Put your eyes on!

Not only do I have no eyes, per se, but I definitely have this kind of temperament at 6:30am.

Well, I have eyes, but my eyelashes are blonde and you cannot see my eyes without mascara. So I have become a mascara connoisseur. Mascara for daytime, mascara for carpool time, mascara for pool, mascara for night out..all them them are playing a role in my eye definition and I have a few understudies as well.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

I’m sick of this charade. It is exhausting trying to prove to people that I have peepers all the time. This summer, some other blonde-lashed friends and I were bemoaning our situation. I don’t care if the mascara says “waterproof”, it always comes off when I swim, sweat, move an inch, whatever. Well, it doesn’t exactly come off, it just relocates to underneath my eyes. Lovely.

We started talking about dyeing our eyelashes. In salon speak, this is known as “tinting” and you can tint your eyebrows as well. So November 3 (well past summer time), I decide to bite the bullet and do it, with a fellow blonde-lasher, Jill.

We call Physician’s Center for Beauty to arrange our beautification. It seems like I am always in some compromising or embarrassing situation at this place. That’s why I love them, they accept me no matter what.

I will have you know that I must really like my job if I am showing you pictures of myself with no eyes on. We looked like albino rats scurrying in. Honestly, it was so bad that when we arrived, the desk staff (who has no idea who we are or what services we are there for) say immediately, “You are here for an eyelash tint, right?”

How did you guess?

Jill is such a good sport. Not only does she “help”me with the story, she agrees to do it sans makeup and with a close up photo.

At least I snuck some lip gloss on to lessen the blow. Looking at picture of yourself without makeup on is really another level of self-acceptance (that I have not achieved).

There’s an eyeball on that face somewhere. Look really close.

So we are hastened back to a private room, where they keep all their subjects who are not looking their best. Jill goes first. She has to take out her contacts first and I’m concerned for her safety as she feels her way to the table. Thank goodness we are reclining for the treatment.

Tools of the trade. Henna dye, brushes, Aquaphor and cotton pads.

The process is simple and painless. Aquaphor is applied below your upper and lower lids so that the dye will not dye your skin. Then cotton pads are placed at the lash line and the lashes are painted with henna dye and a “paintbrush.” There are two coats applied and then you just wait for it to set.

No she is not crying.

I am amazed just after the first round of tint on Jill’s lashes. They are unbelievably thick and you could never see that before.

Getting lower lashes done. Not blinking while she’s doing this is probably worse than water torture.

I get my lower lashes done, a procedure that might be a sister to waterboarding. Have you ever tried to keep your eyes open, not blinking, while someone puts something on your lash line. Not a drill I practice much.

Now the tops being done. They look like tarantulas.

After the tinting is done, all you have to do is relax and wait. The entire process takes about fifteen minutes.

Jill had to have cotton on her top lids to force her to not open her eyes.

Jill had an eyewash after her tint was done. So in the picture below, she is wiping that wash off; she is actually not crying.

No, not crying, wiping off the eye wash.

And I am in complete shock at seeing my lashes. No this is not an ad for Sculptra.

Shock and awe.

So, we went and took pictures of ourselves the next day. It looked better by the end of the first day and definitely better after washing your face. Jill is wearing no eye makeup, yet, she even looks like she has eyeliner on.

After

There they are!

Here are mine. I did not wear eye makeup for two days straight and went out in public. The last time I did that I was when I had the flu. I gave birth to all my children wearing mascara for Pete’s sake.

Side view. That is not a stitch of makeup, I promise.

Eyelash tinting is done at most major salons. It ranges in price from $25-30, so all are comparable. It will last for 4-6 weeks.

Both Jill and I have said, from the moment we saw ourselves “after,” “Why did we not do this sooner?”

Physician’s Center for Beauty is located at 4600 Shelbyville Road in the Shelbyville Road Plaza. Their phone number is (502) 897-7546. Click here for more information.